Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Carlin was best known for his routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television," which appeared 1972's "Class Clown" album.

When Carlin uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace, the AP reported. The comedy sketch prompted a landmark indecency case after WBAI-FM radio aired it in 1973.

The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices ruled on a 5-to-4 vote that the sketch was "indecent but not obscene," giving the FCC broad leeway to determine what constituted indecency on the airwaves.

"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," Carlin said. "In the context of that era, it was daring."

"It just sounds like a very self-serving kind of word. I don't want to go around describing myself as a 'groundbreaker' or a 'difference-maker' because I'm not and I wasn't," he said. "But I contributed to people who were saying things that weren't supposed to be said." Watch Carlin's 7 dirty words routine »

Carlin, who was also an author, was slated to receive the 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in November.

"In his length career as a comedian, writer, and actor, George Carlin has not only made us laugh, but he makes us think," Stephen Schwarzman, Kennedy Center chairman, said in a statement. "His influence on the next generation of comics has been far-reaching."

This makes me sad- we used to sneak as much of his stuff on air as we could get away with when I worked for WBIM (1972-1975). Station manager was not a fan. There is no one else like him. He will be missed.

_________________________"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."Charles Mackay - 1814-1889Scottish poet, journalist, and song writer.

I always thought of the terrible day, when that old man would finally pass away. He has inspired me as a youth, and he has, and always will be, a Satanist at heart.

I remember the many nights I spent listening to his comedy tapes and how truthful and funny his cynical and angry words were.

Now he is among the last of the line of great Satanic comedians.

RIP George Carlin

Edit: A fitting quote from Book of Satan 3:9 '...Thus you shall make yourself respected in all walks of life, and your spirit - your immortal spirit - shall live, not in an intangible paradise, but in the brains, and sinews, of those whose respect you have gained.'